Describe as many hands as you know, pick some contracts, see what they are worth.
| s S h H d D c C | min / max cards in spades, hearts, diamonds, clubs |
| m M | min / max high card points |
| l L | min / max losing tricks, 0–12 |
| b u | min / max suit-length product — u60 is shapely, b90 balanced |
| x X | min / max stops: suit then count, x01 = a spade stop |
| t T | suit headed by at least / at most: t03 = spades to an honour |
| Q | a good suit: Q3 = good clubs |
| | | or |
| !. | exclude what came before: m18!. = not 18 or more |
| AK543.876.… | a literal hand, or a template with x ? * |
Suits are numbered 0 spades, 1 hearts, 2 diamonds, 3 clubs.